Chapter 7:
- Georgia troops in Virginia in 1862 -- Yorktown -- Seven Pines -- the valley campaign-seven Days battles.
During the campaign upon the Virginia peninsula ending with the battle of Seven Pines, on the last day of May and first of June, the Georgia commands had a part in all the frequent engagements except the battle of Williamsburg. When Mc-Clellan's army invested Yorktown, the Sixth, Sixteenth, Seventh, Eighth and Tenth regiments were on duty in the trenches and on the general Confederate line. On April 16th the Federal attack was opened at Dam No. 1, the center of Magruder's line, by a storm of shot and shell, when it was a Georgian who made the first reply with the one available cannon which could be used with effect. Lieutenant Pope, of the Troup artillery (Cobb's legion), Capt. Marcellus Stanley, performed this duty, and the coolness and skill with which his 6-pounder was handled almost counterbalanced the odds against him. The Federal attack upon the position held by the forces under Gen. Howell Cobb was met by his line of battle, the right of which was composed of the Sixteenth and Eleventh Georgia regiments and Cobb's legion. The first onset of the enemy was successful, considerable confusion following the death of Colonel McKinney, of the Fifteenth North Carolina. But this disorder was promptly corrected by General Cobb, who rode to the front, and by his coolness inspired his men to promptly retake their positions. Col. George T. Anderson at this opportune moment brought up the Seventh and Eighth Georgia, and these regiments, the Seventh led by Col. [160] W. T. Wilson and supported by the Eighth under Col. Lucius M. Lamar, with parts of the Sixteenth Georgia, Fifth Louisiana and the North Carolina regiment, under Col. Goode Bryan, made a gallant charge, which drove the enemy with severe loss from the rifle-pits gained by him and across the pond. General Cobb mentioned among the casualties the severe wounding of Capt. James Barrow, of his staff, while delivering orders. Colonel Bryan called special attention to the bravery of Captain Montgomery, Company D, Sixteenth regiment, who displayed coolness and gallantry during the assault of the enemy. A second assault was attempted by Mc-Clellan's forces, but under the steady fire of the Confederates they could gain no headway. General Magruder highly commended the skill of General McLaws, division commander, and the personal daring and coolness of General Cobb. Colonel Anderson's brigade, it has been noticed, came to the rescue at the most important moment, winning special distinction, and later, says Magruder, ‘Brigadier-General Toombs, commanding the division which included Anderson's brigade, advanced with his own brigade under Gen. P. J. Semmes, and supported Cobb and Anderson at the close of the fight, which ended at nightfall.’ This action brought credit to some of Georgia's most brilliant commanders, and to troops which became famous in many subsequent battles. After the abandonment of Yorktown and the gallant fight at Williamsburg, there was an attempt on the part of the Federals to land troops near West Point, Va., which brought on an engagement May 7th, in which the Eighteenth Georgia, Col. W. T. Wofford, of Hood's brigade, and the Nineteenth, of Hampton's brigade, participated. General Hampton reported that the Nineteenth came up at a run when needed, under heavy fire. This regiment took a number of prisoners, and the conduct of Col. Thomas C. Johnson and Maj. A. J. Hutchins was particularly commended. On the 19th Capt. William H. [161] Willis, of the Fourth, and Captain Albert, of the Twenty-second, skirmished with the enemy at City Point. On May 24th, the Eighth and Ninth Georgia, under command of Colonels Lamar and R. A. Turnipseed, took part in the sortie over the Chickahominy at New Bridge, under Col. B. H. Robertson. Colonel Lamar commanded the infantry and was complimented upon his prompt and efficient execution of orders. ‘The officers and men behaved most gallantly,’ Robertson reported; ‘their coolness and steadiness under fire bespoke them veterans worthy of the fame so dearly bought on the plains of Manassas.’ Three companies of the Tenth, Col. Alfred Cumming commanding, also served in this combat. At the fight of Branch's brigade at Hanover Court House, May 27th, Col. Thomas Hardeman's regiment, the Forty-fifth, was present, but not actively engaged. At the time of the battle of Seven Pines, fought about six miles east of Richmond, the brigades of George T. Anderson, Toombs, Cobb and Semmes were aligned in the order named, on the west side of the Chickahominy. But in the successful attack of D. H. Hill's division upon that part of the Federal army which had crossed the Chickahominy, the movement which constituted the main part of the battle, two Georgia regiments were conspicuous. These were the Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth, temporarily attached to the North Carolina brigade of Col. George B. Anderson. Hill's division swept the enemy from its front in an impetuous charge, and captured the intrenchments before Seven Pines. The Twentysev-enth first encountered the enemy at the abatis after a fatiguing march through the woods, and suffering severely under fire, charged over the abatis and at the second attempt drove the Federals from their position. In this gallant movement, which began the discomfiture of Keyes' division, the Georgians were assisted by Micah Jenkins' South Carolina regiment. In the first charge the gallant Capt. Thomas J. Bacon fell mortally wounded. [162] ‘This officer's loss is irreparable,’ Lieutenant-Colonel Zachry reported. ‘In his regular duties his attentiveness and faithfulness challenged the admiration of every member of the command. His courage, coolness and judgment rendered his services on the battlefield invaluable.’ Between the first and second charge Col. Levi B. Smith was severely wounded, but he kept his saddle through the second charge and until about 5 p. m., when exhausted by loss of blood he reluctantly retired. ‘Colonel Smith,’ said General Anderson, ‘approved himself a soldier and leader of the noblest qualities.’ While in the act of leaving the field his horse was shot under him. After this the regiment was ably commanded by Lieut.— Col. Charles T. Zachry. Colonel Zachry's report states that after passing the first camp of the enemy he was ordered to follow up Colonel Jenkins' regiment and support him if necessary. Adjutant Gardner, on finding Jenkins, was hailed by the latter with, ‘Come on, Georgia, I want you.’ As the two gallant regiments advanced, a change of position in the face of an advancing body of the enemy caused temporary confusion, which was rectified by Adjutant Gardner, who dashed boldly to where the line should be, and rode back and forth under fire, waving his sword defiantly at the enemy. The regiment promptly rushed into position and drove .the enemy from the woods. Their advance ceased at 8 p. m., a mile ahead of any other Confederate troops except Jenkins' regiment, their comrades in the charge. Sergeant Latham, of Company D, color-bearer, and the color guard were distinguished for intrepid conduct. The colors were pierced twenty times. The Twenty-eighth was also under fire in the same movement for three or four hours. Capt. John N. Wilcox, left in command in consequence of the illness of Lieut.-Col. James G. Cain, led the regiment with coolness and gallantry through the fight. Commissary John [163] T. Hall, Lieut. P. F. Crump, Adjutant Wicker and Sergt.-Maj. J. E. Thompson were commended for efficiency. The Twenty-eighth took into battle 371 men, and lost 24 killed and 95 wounded, a total of 119. Among the killed was Lieut. R. A. McClure. Lieut. J. A. J. Peacock was desperately wounded and for some time thought to be killed. The Twenty-seventh, out of 392 engaged, suffered a loss of 16 killed and 129 wounded, total 154. In the words of General Anderson, these dry figures may be truly said to speak with touching eloquence of what was done and suffered by the brave men of his brigade on Saturday, the 31st of May. Other Georgia regiments, the Third, Sixth, Fourteenth and Nineteenth, were more or less engaged. The Fourteenth lost among its killed Capt. John H. Etheridge, and the Nineteenth, Capt. A. H. Black. The Twelfth Georgia, which led by Edward Johnson had won distinction in the mountains of western Virginia during 1861, was now commanded by Col. Z. T. Conner, who also had charge of one of the two brigades which formed the little army of the Northwest commanded by Gen. Edward Johnson in the spring of 1862. They confronted the brigades of Generals Milroy and Schenck in the upper Shenandoah valley during the early operations of Gen. Stonewall Jackson in the vicinity of Winchester, and after Jackson had formed a junction with them, they were sent forward to drive back Milroy's brigade from the Monterey region, and prevent his uniting with the Federal General Banks, who was advancing up the valley from the north. The battle of Mc-Dowell, which Jackson fought on May 8, 1862, was made a victory chiefly by Edward Johnson, with Conner's and Scott's brigades, supported by Taliaferro's, against the two brigades of Milroy and Schenck. It was probably won by the tenacious fighting of Conner's Twelfth Georgia regiment and the brigade commanded by him. In seizing the hill upon which the battle was fought late in [164] the afternoon, the Twelfth Georgia was placed on the crest confronting the main body of the enemy, supported on the left and right by Virginia regiments. As Jackson reported in complimentary terms, it held this position against the assaults of the enemy with heroic gallantry, and when the flank was threatened, participated with Taliaferro's brigade in frustrating that hostile movement. The character of its service may be inferred from its losses, 35 killed and 140 wounded, about one-third of the aggregate Confederate casualties. Among the killed were Captains Dawson, Furlow, McMillan and Patterson, and Lieutenants Goldwire, Massey, Turpin and Woodward. Colonel Conner and Major Hawkins were complimented by honorable mention in General Johnson's report. This battle is especially worthy of note as the first of the series of victories that have joined forever the names of Stonewall Jackson and the Shenandoah valley. On the 30th, four companies of the Twelfth and a Louisiana regiment were severely handled at Front Royal by a brigade of Shields' division, losing Lieutenants Dixon and Waterman among the prisoners taken from them. On June 8th and 9th, in the crowning victories of this brilliant campaign, Cross Keys and Port Republic, the regiment lost 2 killed and 12 wounded. The Twenty-first Georgia regiment, Col. John .T. Mercer, in Trimble's brigade, of Ewell's division, was especially distinguished at Winchester, May 25th, winning the commendation of both Stonewall Jackson and Ewell in the official reports. ‘We moved at dawn,’ wrote Ewell, ‘and opened the attack at 5:40 a. m., the Twenty-first North Carolina and Twenty-first Georgia gallantly dashing into the western part of the town and driving back the advanced posts of the enemy. The Twenty-first North Carolina was exposed to a murderous fire from a regiment posted behind a stone wall. Both its field officers were wounded and a large number of privates killed and wounded. They were forced back, [165] retiring in good order and ready to renew the fight. Colonel Mercer, of the Twenty-first Georgia, drove out this Federal regiment and joined the rest of the brigade in the subsequent movements.’ At Cross Keys the regiment was again in battle, and Colonel Mercer was specially commended by General Trimble. Here the regiment lost 28 killed and wounded, among the latter Lieut. J. M. Mack. Near the middle of June, 1862, Brig.-Gen. A. R. Lawton, with a Georgia brigade consisting of six regiments, Thirteenth, Col. Marcellus Douglass; Twenty-sixth, Col. E. N. Atkinson; Thirty-first, Col. C. A. Evans; Thirty-eighth, Col. Augustus R. Wright; Sixtieth, Col. W. H. Stiles; Sixty-first, Col. John H. Lamar, arrived in Virginia. These regiments had been serving on the Georgia coast under General Lawton since the fall of 1861, and some of the troops, especially of the Thirteenth regiment, had been engaged in two spirited affairs on Whitemarsh island, below Savannah, in March and April, 1862. On the 11th of June, Gen. R. E. Lee, who had succeeded J. E. Johnston, wrote to Jackson:
The practicability of reinforcing you has been the subject of earnest consideration. It has been determined to do so at the expense of weakening this army. Brigadier-General Lawton with six regiments from Georgia is on the way to you, and Brigadier-General Whiting with eight veteran regiments leaves here today. The object is to enable you to crush the forces opposed to you. Leave your enfeebled troops to watch the country and guard the passes, covered by your cavalry and artillery, and with your main body, including Ewell's division and Lawton's and Whiting's commands, move rapidly to Ashland, by rail or otherwise, as you may find most advantageous, and sweep down between the Chickahominy and Pamunkey, cutting up the enemy's communications, etc., while this army attacks General McClellan in front.This was the outline of part of the plan of campaign [166] against McClellan which first established the great military reputation of General Lee. In the army of Northern Virginia, as organized for that campaign, Lawton's brigade became the Fourth of Jackson's division, Jackson's corps. The Eighteenth Georgia was attached to Hood's Texas brigade; the Twelfth was a part of Elzey's (Early's) brigade, Ewell's division; D. H. Hill's division included a brigade four-fifths Georgian, commanded by Col. A. H. Colquitt—the Sixth, Twenty-third, Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Georgia; and Ripley's brigade of the same division was half Georgian, including the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth regiments. In Magruder's corps were more Georgia regiments than of any other State. D. R. Jones' division had two brigades, the first commanded by Gen. Robert Toombs, composed of the Second, Fifteenth, Seventeenth and Twentieth Georgia regiments, and the second, under Col. George T. Anderson, made up of the First regulars, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Georgia, the old Manassas brigade. Gen. Paul J. Semmes' brigade of Mc-Laws' division included the Tenth and Fifty-third, and Gen. Howell Cobb's brigade had for its main strength the Sixteenth and Twenty-fourth regiments and Cobb's legion. Ambrose R. Wright, former colonel of the Third Georgia, promoted to brigadier-general, commanded a brigade of Huger's division, which included the Third, Fourth and Twenty-second regiments. Still another Georgia brigade was found in A. P. Hill's light division-Joseph R. Anderson's, made up of the Fourteenth, Thirty-fifth, Forty-fifth and Forty-ninth regiments; and in the same division the Nineteenth was attached to Archer's Tennessee brigade. The Second Georgia battalion, from the department of North Carolina, was with J. G. Walker's brigade. The splendid army with which Lee prepared to thwart the invasion of McClellan, probably the greatest assembled [167] in behalf of the Confederacy during the war, included 186 regiments and battalions of infantry, among which Virginia as the invaded territory properly had 5th, the largest number. Georgia had 38; North Carolina, including the troops of her department, furnished 36; South Carolina, 15; Alabama, 15; Mississippi, 10; Louisiana, 11, and other States smaller numbers. Lee's plan to bring Stonewall Jackson to his assistance and crush McClellan before reinforcements could reach him, had approached the eve of its fulfillment, when about two hours before sunset on the 26th of June, Jackson's signal guns announced to A. P. Hill that he had reached the outposts on the Union right. But on the previous day, June 25th, occurred an aggressive movement of the enemy on the old battlefield of Seven Pines, which, though it did not hinder in any way Lee's plan, may be called the first of the week's engagements known to fame as the Seven Days battles before Richmond. About daylight of the 25th, the Federals, advancing in considerable force, drove back the Confederate pickets to the skirt of woods immediately in front of and about half a mile distant from the Southern lines. Col. George Doles, with the Fourth Georgia, was on the picket line, and Gen. Ambrose R. Wright brought forward the Twenty-second (Col. R. H. Jones) and the First Louisiana, and charging gallantly to the support of the Fourth, drove back the enemy through the woods a quarter mile. Here their farther advance lay over an open field, beyond which, under cover of heavy forest timber and dense undergrowth, the retreating foe had taken shelter. ‘With a gallantry and impetuosity which have rarely been equaled, and certainly never excelled since the war began,’ says General Wright, “these brave and daring Louisianians and Georgians charged through the open field and actually drove from their cover the whole brigade, supposed at the time to be Sickles'.” Soon after this Colonel Rutledge's North Carolina [168] regiment, supported by the Third Georgia, Maj. J. R. Sturges, aided by Capt. Frank Huger's battery, gallantly participated in the fight, holding their ground under a murderous fire, and then pushed back a largely superior force of the enemy. The Federals still holding their position on the right, late in the day, General Wright sent against them the Fourth Georgia and Hill's North Carolina regiment. ‘This order was promptly obeyed by Colonel Doles, who with his small command, now worn out and completely exhausted by the fatigue and want of rest on the night before, and the constant fight during the whole day, rushed forward and soon found themselves confronted by Sickles' brigade, strongly posted in a thick growth of pines.’ The fire here for twenty minutes was furious and terrific, but the gallant Fourth pressed on. ‘Soon a charge was ordered, and then they rushed forward and at the point of the bayonet drove the enemy in great disorder and confusion through the woods to Kings' schoolhouse, where they were temporarily rallied; but another deadly volley from the Fourth, followed by a dashing charge, and the enemy fled from their position, leaving us masters of the field, and in possession of a great number of prisoners, besides most of their killed and a few of their wounded.’ Such was the vigorous report of the day's fight from General Wright, who complimented Colonel Doles and his regiment with particular warmth, and permitted them to inscribe upon their colors the name of the battle—‘King's Schoolhouse.’ The following day Gen. A. P. Hill crossed the Chickahominy to make an attack which was expected to have the support of Stonewall Jackson, beginning the strong flank movement which General Lee relied upon to crush the Federal army, while Huger and Magruder held the line before Richmond. The battle of Mechanicsville followed, in which J. R. Anderson's brigade was particularly distinguished. ‘Anderson, with the Thirty-fifth Georgia, Col. E. L. Thomas leading,’ as stated in the [169] report of General Hill, ‘had moved as heretofore directed, and encountering the enemy drove them back, and Colonel Thomas with his regiment crossed Beaver Dam creek and gained an admirable position for charging the enemy's batteries. The Fourteenth Georgia, Lieut.-Col. Robert W. Folsom, pushed forward to his support, but Folsom was stricken down, the regiment lost his gallant leading and but few crossed.’ Colonel Thomas held his own until the battle closed, when he withdrew and joined his brigade on the south side of the creek. The Forty-ninth and Forty-fifth Georgia were effective in the same fight. General Anderson also made special mention of the Georgians in this affair, saying: ‘I would especially notice the conduct of Col. E. L. Thomas, commanding Thirty-fifth Georgia, who evinced fearlessness and good judgment not only in this affair, but throughout the expedition. He was wounded on this occasion, but remained always on duty at the head of his regiment. His adjutant, too, Lieutenant Ware, was conspicuous for gallantry, and sealed with his life his devotion to the cause of his country, as did other valuable officers. I have also as the result of this action to regret the loss from the service, at least for a time, of Col. A. J. Lane, commanding Forty-ninth Georgia, who received a painful and serious wound in the arm, and of Lieut.-Col. Thomas J. Simmons, of the Forty-fifth regiment; nor can I omit to call special attention to the gallant conduct of Capt. L. P. Thomas, quartermaster of the Thirty-fifth, who volunteered his services for the occasion in the field, seeing his regiment deficient in field officers. He rendered valuable service until he was seriously wounded. Lieut.-Col. Robert W. Folsom, Fourteenth Georgia, also deserves special mention. This officer was confined to his sick bed, but as soon as the order to move forward was given he got up and gallantly led his regiment, [170] though laboring under the effects of disease.’ Capt. D. B. Henry and Lieut. H. H. Roberts were among the killed. In the same battle the Nineteenth Georgia, of Archer's brigade, lost its gallant commander, Lieut.-Col. Thomas C. Johnson, who fell cheering his men in action; Lieut. Joseph Dunlap was also killed in the midst of the conflict. Ripley's brigade, of D. H. Hill's division, joined A. P. Hill before the close of this fight, bringing into action the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth Georgia. Just before dark they advanced over very difficult ground under a heavy fire, and suffered great loss. ‘Of the Forty-fourth Georgia,’ General Ripley reported, ‘Col. Robert A. Smith and Lieut.-Col. John B. Estes fell wounded, the former mortally, besides 2 captains and 10 lieutenants killed and wounded. The Forty-eighth Georgia, Colonel Gibson, had a more advantageous position and suffered less severely. . . . The loss of non-commissioned officers and privates was heavy in the extreme.’ In the Forty-fourth Georgia there were 335 killed and wounded, including every field officer, either killed or wounded. Next morning, as the Confederates advanced, the enemy fell back to Gaines' Mill and Cold Harbor, where A. P. Hill followed and made desperate efforts to break the Federal line. ‘The Thirty-fifth Georgia drove through the enemy's lines like a wedge, but it was all of no avail.’ Hardeman's Forty-fifth was also in the fight, and the Nineteenth Georgia lost all its field officers. Lieutenant-Colonel Shackelford, killed in the gallant discharge of duty, and Sergt.-Maj. J. W. Williams were especially commended by General Archer. The heroic fragment of the Forty-fourth, 179 strong, under Capts. J. W. Beck and Samuel P. Lumpkin, were still at the front in this as in subsequent battles. Toward the close of this battle Longstreet and Jackson threw their forces to the relief of A. P. Hill, and defeated the Federal army. The Eighteenth Georgia, under [171] Lieut.-Col. S. Z. Ruff, took part in the famous assault of Hood's brigade, losing 16 killed and 126 wounded. Among the killed and mortally wounded were Lieutenants Dowton, McCulloch, Cone and Jones. Of Colquitt's brigade Gen. D. H. Hill said: ‘The Sixth and Twenty-seventh Georgia, of this brigade, commanded by those pure, brave, noble, Christian soldiers, Lieut.-Col. J. M. Newton and Col. Levi B. Smith, behaved most heroically, and maintained their ground when half their number had been struck down.’ Lawton's brigade of the Stonewall division went into action about 5 o'clock in the evening, moving forward in perfect order through the woods and miry soil, guided only by the sound of the firing. ‘In the midst of the wood,’ said General Lawton, ‘I met Major-General Ewell, then hotly engaged, who, as he saw this long line advancing under fire, waved his sword and cried out, “Hurrah for Georgia!” To this there was a cheering response from my command, which then moved forward more rapidly than ever.’ Being informed of the place where they were most needed, the Georgians pushed on, picking up fragments of other brigades as they advanced, an invincible line of reinforcement at the crisis of the fight. At this moment the North Carolinians under Iverson made the charge which terminated the struggle and routed the enemy, and this was supported by the disposition of the troops under Lawton's command. The Thirty-eighth and Thirty-first were for a time separated from the brigade in crossing a ravine, thus falling under the command of Colonel Evans, and were accompanied in their subsequent movements by Capt. E. P. Lawton, the gallant adjutant-general of the brigade. These two regiments were actively engaged from the beginning, and participated in the last decisive charge, losing 83 killed and 259 wounded, total 342, while the aggregate brigade loss was 492. Captain Lawton had his horse killed and was slightly wounded; Lieut.-Col. L. J. Parr, in command [172] of the Thirty-eighth, lost an arm, and Maj. J. D. Matthews was dangerously wounded. Col. C. A. Evans, commanding the Thirty-first regiment, and leading, in the charge on the left, his own and the Thirty-eighth regiment after their separation from the brigade, received a slight wound, and a number of other officers were killed or wounded. The losses among rank and file were very heavy, showing the desperate character of their charge. Early in the action, Capt. Edward Cheves, volunteer aide to General Lawton, lost his horse, but he went into battle on foot and fell pierced through the heart by a rifle ball. ‘Though a mere youth, he had exhibited a degree of zeal, intelligence and gallantry worthy of praise, and not one who fell on that bloody field has brought more sorrow to the hearts of those who knew him best.’ The loss of the brigade in this battle of Gaines' Mill was as follows: Thirteenth, 6 killed, 54 wounded; Sixtieth, 3 killed, 1 wounded; Twenty-sixth, 8 killed, 32 wounded; Sixty-first, 6 killed, 30 wounded; Thirty-eighth, 54 killed, 118 wounded; Thirty-first, 29 killed, 141 wounded; aggregate, 492. After this battle, Magruder and Huger pushed forward south of the Chickahominy. On the 27th, Toombs, instructed to feel the enemy, sent seven companies of the Second, under Colonel Butt, against the intrenched Federals, and supported them with the Fifteenth, Colonel McIntosh; Seventeenth, Colonel Benning, and Twentieth, Col. J. B. Cumming. There was a spirited fight for an hour and a half, in which the enemy was defeated in his effort to dislodge the Georgians, the brunt of the contest falling upon the Second and Fifteenth regiments. The Second lost in killed and wounded about half the men carried into action, and the Fifteenth lost 71 out of 300 engaged, including the chivalrous Col. W. M. McIntosh, who fell mortally wounded, and Captain Burch and Lieutenant Tilley, killed in action. The behavior of the entire brigade, as General Toombs expressed it, was [173] ‘brilliantly heroic.’ .The companies of the Second engaged, under command of Colonel Butt and Lieut.-Col. W. R. Holmes, were the Cherokee Brown Rifles (F), Semmes Guards (C), Burke Sharpshooters (D), Wright Infantry (H), Buena Vista Guards (I), Stewart Greys, Lieut. Henry Rockwell, and Jackson Blues, Capt. McC. Lewis. Holmes reported that when the fight ceased at night, of the two companies which he commanded (Captain Shepherd's Semmes Guards and Captain Shuford's Cherokee Rifles) there were but two men left effective. All were either killed, wounded, or unable to fire, not being able to load their pieces or out of ammunition. The seven companies included about 271 men, in this battle. At the same time the Seventh and Eighth regiments of Anderson's brigade, in the words of Gen. D. R. Jones, ‘with that impetuous valor exhibited on other fields, advanced rapidly on the enemy, facing a hail of grape, canister and musketry, and driving him from his intrenchments to the edge of the Labor-in-Vain swamp.’ The Eighth led the attack under command of the heroic L. M. Lamar, and suffered severely. Colonel Lamar was wounded and taken by the enemy, Lieut.-Col. John R. Towers and Lieutenant Harper were also captured, Maj. E. J. Magruder was seriously wounded, Captain Butler, Lieutenants Montgomery, Williamson and Blackwell were wounded, and 13 men were killed, 63 wounded, 6 missing and 15 taken prisoners. Of the Seventh, Lieut.-Col. W. W. White, commanding, was seriously wounded, Captain Hicks wounded, and 7 were killed, 60 wounded and 8 missing. On the following day, the 29th (battle of Savage Station), Anderson's Georgia brigade set out in line of battle to find the enemy, traversing his deserted camps and works. The First Georgia regulars, in advance, had a brisk engagement. The Tenth, Col. Alfred Cumming, of Semmes' brigade, was particularly distinguished in [174] the Savage Station fight, and suffered a loss of 10 killed and 47 wounded, out of 345. The bloody encounter of Frayser's Farm followed on the 30th. Just as J. R. Anderson's Georgia brigade went into the battle that evening, President Davis galloped along the line and was recognized and vociferously cheered by the men. It was dark as they approached the scene of action, and the Georgians unfortunately mistook an approaching body of the enemy for friends until they received a deadly fire which caused great confusion and wounded General Anderson and Colonel Hardeman. Colonel Thomas then assumed brigade command. The campaign which had resulted in driving McClellan from the proximity of Richmond came to a close in the futile assault upon the heights of Malvern hill, desperately defended by the Federals. Here the Thirteenth regiment, Col. Marcellus Douglass, was actively engaged and lost 9 killed and 46 wounded. There was a remnant of 142 officers and men of the Forty-fourth Georgia who went into the fight at Malvern hill, under Lieut.-Col. John B. Estes, and lost 9 killed, 40 wounded and 10 missing, increasing the total loss of the brigade in the week's fighting to 400, out of an original strength of 514. Of these, the killed in battle or mortally wounded were estimated at 200. The Tenth Georgia was gallantly led by Col. Alfred Cumming, and with Company K, Fifty-third, under Lieutenant McCowan, and a company of the First regulars under Lieutenant Benning, at a late hour made a desperate charge upon the enemy's batteries, but was repulsed. The Tenth lost 38 out of 198 engaged. Lawton's brigade, held in reserve under severe shelling, was ordered into the fight later in the afternoon, and participated in the final assault in the evening which was continued far into night. The Thirty-first, Colonel Evans commanding, was deployed to cover the front of the brigade during the night. The casualties of Lawton's brigade in the charge were 75. [175] The Seventh, of Col. G. T. Anderson's brigade, at Malvern hill was commanded by Maj. E. W. Hoyle, who was wounded, the command devolving on Capt. George H. Carmichael. Other officers wounded were Adjutant Maddox, Capt. R. B. Hicks, Lieuts. J. F. Bellinger, A. Y. White and Obadiah Wynn. Lieut. T. S. Watson was killed. Sergt. T. A. Aderhold, of Company I, after the colors had been twice shot down, sprang forward, and grasping the staff called on his comrades to rally on the colors, in which heroic conduct he was severely wounded. The Eleventh, Lieut.-Col. William Luffman, had 79 killed, wounded and missing, among them Adjt. John F. Green, Lieuts. M. F. Gudger and Nathaniel Parish. The brigades of Cobb and Toombs also participated in this battle. The Second and part of the Twentieth charged with Kershaw on the Federal batteries, and Colonel Butt was wounded. The Second lost 11 killed, including Capt. Walter A. Thompson, Lieuts. F. E. Hardison and Richard Potter, and 70 wounded; the Fifteenth, commanded by Capt. S. Z. Hearnsberger, also suffered severely; the Seventeenth lost 5 killed, including Lieut. P. T. Booker, and 31 wounded; and the Twentieth lost 5 killed and 66 wounded. Wright's brigade lost heavily in the assaults at Crew's house, both in officers and men. Maj. John R. Sturges, commanding Third regiment, fell at the head of his men under the very muzzles of the enemy's cannon; Capt. John A. Hamilton, Lieuts. Z. F. Crenshaw and R. L. Cumming were killed, and Lieuts. R. A. Heath and V. P. Shewmake mortally wounded. Capt. James G. Rodgers, commanding the Twelfth, was particularly complimented by General Early upon his coolness in leading his men to the front through a large body of disorganized troops who were giving disheartening accounts of the fight, he all the time encouraging his own men and urging the fugitives to join him. In the Fourth regiment, Capts. Joshua P. Strickland [176] and George F. Todd and Lieut. Thomas F. Churchill were mortally wounded. In A. P. Hill's report of the campaign, mention for conspicuous gallantry is given to J. N. Williams, sergeant-major Nineteenth Georgia; and Captain Wright and his cavalry company of Cobb's legion (acting as escort) are referred to as being of great service and making a gallant charge on one occasion. The losses of Georgia infantry (not including artillery and cavalry) in these battles were 3,708, about one-sixth of the aggregate loss of the army, as reported. Of the Georgia artillery commands, Lane's battery of Lieutenant-Colonel Cutts' Sumter battalion lost 2 killed and 7 wounded at Malvern hill. The Troup artillery lost 4 men wounded. None of the Georgia cavalry commands was actively engaged directly with Lee's infantry during the Seven Days. [177]
